In January 2020, three-year-old William Reckless lost both of his legs and nine fingers to sepsis. In March this year, he nonetheless defied the odds by completing a four-mile challenge to mark four years since his amputations — a feat which saw him raise an impressive £8,403 for Nottingham Hospitals Charity.
William's mother Gemma explains to HELLO! how William — now eight — took on the challenge as a way of thanking the hospital for "saving [his] life". "If you ask him, he just says, 'The hospital saved my life and I want to give them something,'" Gemma tells us.
"As a family, we'd wanted to do something to give back because the Nottingham Hospitals Charity has supported us throughout William's time in hospital… He'd been asking long enough and he said, 'Well, what about four miles for four years?'...I was quite concerned, but he was like, 'Look, I can do it. I can do it.'"
For his challenge, William walked two miles with prosthetic limbs, then completed another two miles on his handcycle. And his achievement certainly didn't go unnoticed. Earlier this year, William was crowned Young Fundraiser of the Year at the 2024 JustGiving Awards.
"I'm just incredibly proud… For him to get that recognition and for other people to recognise the resilience and commitment that he's had to show to be able to complete that challenge [means a lot]," Gemma says of his accomplishment.
"When he was in hospital, I could never have imagined in my wildest dreams that he'd be completing a four-mile challenge and then going up on stage in front of hundreds of people - he's always been so shy."
It's important to be kind because it makes people happy and helps others who need it.
Reflecting on William's fundraising efforts, Nigel Gregory, Chief Executive at Nottingham Hospitals Charity tells us: "We've had the privilege of getting to know William and his family over the past few months, and we have been blown away by what a wonderful, resilient and inspiring little boy William is.
"With the support of his family, William has overcome real difficulty and taken on a huge personal challenge, to raise an incredible amount of money for children and families being cared for at Nottingham Children's Hospital. The money William has raised will make a real difference to other children like him, and parents like Gemma and Mike, by enabling us to fund more specialist medical equipment, family-friendly facilities, and toys and games for other patients and families at Nottingham Children's Hospital."
No child wants to be in hospital, but thanks to supporters like William we are able to help make the experience less daunting, and provide a more comforting and welcoming environment for the young children being treated here. Well done William, we're all so proud of you.
William's parents were blown away by the kindness shown to them during their son's sepsis journey. Gemma was able to stay in hospital parent accommodation for the entirety of William's hospitalisation which was only made possible thanks to charity funding.
"From taking him into hospital in January, I never left until March, when we brought him home," she explains. "Especially while he was in intensive care, you're not allowed to sleep at the side of the bed, so to be able to go back and have a room where I could get a couple of hours of sleep and [have] a shower... It just meant a lot that I could stay with him and always be close to him."
For Gemma, it was ultimately the kindness of others that helped them get through that difficult year. Opening up, she reveals: "Kindness is what got us through in 2020. I always said, 'I don't know how we would have coped without it'... Even the smallest of gestures meant the absolute world to us."
They've also been touched by the kindness of Paralympian Richard Whitehead who has gone out of his way to support William and his family. The sports star, who became the first double leg amputee to run the length of the country, visited William's school to discuss all things prosthetics and to make his transition at school smoother.
Beyond this, he's also offered advice to Gemma and her husband Mike. "He's been on the phone to me and my husband when we had to make decisions about surgeries," Gemma explains.
"And Richard's been able to give us insight, having been an adult with double amputations. He's been an amazing support to us."
Despite already making a significant contribution to Nottingham Hospitals Charity, William now has his sights set on a new mission.
"March next year will be the fifth anniversary of his amputations," Gemma reveals. "So he said, 'Well, can I do a five-year challenge?' And he's been saying, 'Well, I've done 5km… Is five miles more or less [than 5km]. And what else could I do?" He's trying to think of something around the number five. I think next March is going to be the next big challenge for him."